John wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm told the boiler heat exchanger is partly blocked, laeding to the
flame coming out sideways, licking round the edges of the the
combustion chamber. Is there any way to confirm/deny this, as visually
I cant see anything? The exchanger itself is not visible.

Last time I saw it alight through the viewing window, it looked fine,
with rows of neat upright blue flames.



An old Elan is it?
The fins get clogged with crud and soot then even though the burner operates
fine the flame/hot gases cannot get through the fins so they lick out around
the skirt of the combustion chamber. Easy to see when the outer casing is
removed. Cleaning the fins properly is a very tedious job requiring scraping
every single fin and passage:-(

Yes, sounds like an exact description. Its a Glow worm, probably 1970s.
If the heat exes are cleanable I'm up for doing it, will be far quicker
and cheaper than a new boiler.


NT